...Public Weal is a body living composed of many and sundry degrees of men, which is disposed by the order of men, which is disposed by the order of equity, and governed by the rule and moderation of reason. In the Latin language it is called Respublica, of the which the word Res has divers significations,...

...Public Weal is a body living composed of many and sundry degrees of men, which is disposed by the order of men, which is disposed by the order of equity, and governed by the rule and moderation of reason. In the Latin language it is called Respublica, of the which the word Res has divers significations,...

...Governour " is divided into three sections or books. The First Book starts from Elyot's definition of a Public Weal, as " a body living compact or made...magistrates being appointed by the sovereign governor Also Keason and common Experience plainly declare, that where the dominion is large and populous, there...

...Weal is a body living composed of many and'sundry degrees of men, which is •disposed by the order of men, which is disposed by the order of equity, and governed by the rule and moderation of reason. In the Latin language it is called Respublica, of which the word res has divers signification, doth...

...public weale under your highness." " A public weale " to Elyot's well read and experienced mind " is a body living compact or made of sundry estates and...and governed by the rule and moderation of reason." He regarded the welfare of the whole Commonwealth as the right end to be held in view, yet inasmuch...

...held close to the persons of sovereigns who wielded a real sway. " A public weale," says Elyot,1 " is a body living, compact or made of sundry estates and...and governed by the rule and moderation of reason." The estates, we see, are sundry and not all alike ; and lest we should miss his intention he presently...

...nobility. The clearest instance is Elyot's Book Named the Governor, the opening page of which defines 'a public weal' as 'a body living, compact or made of sundry estates and degrees of men' (p. 1). This is followed by a very strong expression of the belief that no commonwealth may be said...

...It is by virtue of this concept of human beings as moral and rational that Elyot was able to define a "public weal" as a "body living, compact or made...equity and governed by the rule and moderation of reason."6 Given the supremacy of reason, all things are possible. Positive law becomes a "reflection...

...early Tudor period the metaphor was deeply ingrained among the English. The kingdom was said to be "a body living, compact or made of sundry estates...equity and governed by the rule and moderation of reason."4 In other words, the kingdom was conventionally understood to be a "commonwealth," a hierarchically...

...membcrs, whether families, colleges, or corporate bodies, is not a true commonwealth.50 Elyot, 1531: a body living, compact or made of sundry estates and...disposed by the order of equity and governed by the rule of reason.51 Morison, 1536: a number of cities, towns, shires that all agree upon one law and one head,...